Mandarin utterance-final particle ba in the conversational scoreboard

Mandarin utterance-final particle ba in the conversational scoreboar

(Non)maximality and Distributivity: A Decision Theory Approach

Theory (DT) to give a formal definition of relevance in its application to questions. In his analysis, questions are inherently underspecified or vague (1)

The meaning of vague definites: a Decision-Theoretic approach. *

Abstract In this paper, I am concerned with two mutually motivating goals. The empirical goal is to demonstrate that definite plurals are expressions whose interpretation requires an approach that incorporates goals of the speaker and hearer. The theoretical goal is to contribute to the development of a mathematical model of pragmatic reasoning involved in interpretation of vague utterances. I propose a Decision-Theoretic approach to vague definites in a variety of linguistic and situational contexts, and examine interaction of pragmatic and lexical cues to resolving vagueness

Semantics and pragmatics of arbitrariness

This dissertation explores a typology of a number of impersonal [1] and passive [2] constructions (constructions with arbitrary interpretations or arbs) in Russian, German, Italian, French, and English based on their semantic and pragmatic properties. (1) They speak English in America. (2) The enemy ship was sunk. The goal of this work is twofold. First, I want to introduce a semantically-driven typology into the diverse realm of impersonals and passives. Second, in doing so I want to formally capture the interpretation of context-dependent expressions by building in a reference to speaker/hearer goals into the semantics of definite plurals. The formal tools developed in creating the typology of arbs allow a greater insight into the interaction of context and truth-conditions in general. Pursuing the first goal, I argue that some arbs are uniformly definite, while others are essentially indefinite, drawing attention to previously unobserved behavior of different arbs with respect to adverbial quantification. Further differences between the two types of arbs emerge in their interaction with topic structure and discourse anaphora. A closer look at those arbitrary pronouns that can also refer to the speaker and/or hearer (you in English and Russian, French on, German man, and Italian si) necessitate a more elaborated structure for this subset of indefinite arbs, involving an indefinite (variable) and an indexical-like component. The exploration of these arbs gives rise to an investigation into the nature of indexicality and reference de se. Addressing the second goal, I contribute to the development of semantic theory by arguing that the use of Decision Theory in the formal treatment of definite plurals can bring forth new insights, both empirical and theoretical. The Decision-Theoretic approach allows a formal account of context-dependency when interpretation depends on speaker/hearer goals. In application to definite plurals, this framework replaces and expands the empirical coverage of earlier accounts of distributivity and non-maximality in definite plurals, both arbs and non-arbitrary NPs (Schwarzschild 1991, Brisson 1998, Landman 1989)

The meaning of plural definites: A decision-theoretic approach

This paper has two mutually motivating goals. The empirical goal is to demonstrate that definite plurals are expressions whose interpretation requires an approach that incorporates the goals of the speaker and hearer. The theoretical goal is to contribute to the development of a mathematical model of the pragmatic reasoning involved in the interpretation of underspecified utterances. I propose a decision-theoretic approach in which alternative interpretations of underspecified expressions are built up compositionally, and the resulting interpretation is the disjunction of maximally optimal alternatives. For definite plurals, this derives the correct interpretations in a variety of linguistic and situational contexts based on pragmatic and lexical cues. http://dx.doi.org/10.3765/sp.5.3 <a href="http://semantics-online.org/sp-bib/malamud-2012-article.bib">BibTeX info</a

Non-Topical Coherence in Social Talk: A Call for Dialogue Model Enrichment – Live Version

Live version of the 2020 ACL SRW paper with the same name (https://www.aclweb.org/anthology/2020.acl-srw.17) This makes our lives simpler; for example, we basically no longer need https://www.aclweb.org/anthology/info/corrections/